Me, My Heart, and I

by Melinda Gallo

Flying around and settling into my life

Saturday, June 15, 2013

After my last trip to Florence, I came back to Paris and then left for California for a couple of weeks. Now that I am back in France where I plan on staying put for a little while. In the last couple of months, I have put my blog on the back burner, but have continued taking photos and publishing them via Instagram. During my last trip to Florence, my beau and I also visited the Cinque Terre and Siena. Even though I love Florence, I enjoy visiting Italy and sharing it with others.

Last June when I went to California, my life was in a different place. I had decided to get a divorce and was busy working on a couple of writing projects. Shortly after I returned, my life changed directions: I fell in love with another man and moved in with him six months later. For a while I felt my life was changing quickly and the choices I made were not those I had planned. I was spending more time in France and Florence seemed to be a distant memory.

I finally feel that my life has settled down and that I have found balance once again. During my trip to California these last couple of weeks, I realized how much my life has changed in the last twelve months. In my personal life, I feel that for the first time I am truly in a couple. Before, I spent most of my time alone and now I spend my free time with my beau.

My new life with my beau is a dream come true, of course, but a few side effects are that during this last year writing became less prominent and my projects were set aside.

During my trip to California, I got to reconnect with my family and friends. It was great to spend time with them and for them to see where I am in my life. I appreciated hearing how they saw me last year and how they see me now. I know that I am happier, but it’s even more meaningful when others see it too.

Now that I am back in France, I have decided to focus once again on my writing projects. Even though I put them aside, they seem to have evolved as much as I have in this last year. I am also eager to write in my blog again. Over this last year, I have written a few things in notebooks, but never published them. I have thought about what my expat life is like now that I am living between two countries. Initially, I had difficulty accepting the going back and forth, but now it has become a wonderful part of my life. I thought it was challenging switching between the two countries, but now I truly feel what a blessing it is and how it enriches my life.

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